Place    To 1547

Maypole - St Mary Axe/Leadenhall

Categories: Tourism / Traditions

The maypole, comparable in height to that of the adjacent tower of St Andrew Undershaft, was used each Spring in a celebratory May Day festival. But at the festival on 1 May 1517 the City apprentices, angry against foreigners (presumably coming over here and taking their jobs) rioted and the authorities decided that 'Evil May Day' would be the last year of the festival. The shaft was kept, hanging on houses in Shaft Alley, but in 1549 some fiery preaching against the "idol" caused the Shaft Alley people to cut it into sections and each took the length that had hung on his house, as fire wood.

2016: Spitalfield's Life published a list of London riots in association with 'Adam Dent's London Riot Map', but the Maypole Riot is not included. But, 2017, IanVisits provides details.

2025: Other London maypoles: Until 1717 there was a maypole at St Mary le Strand - purchased by Isaac Newton for use in a telescope in Wanstead (see James Bradley). And in 1907 the celebrations for the start of the Hampstead Garden Suburb development included children dancing around a maypole.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Maypole - St Mary Axe/Leadenhall

Commemorated ati

maypole

Google Street View history shows that this replica was erected sometime 2012-...

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maypole riot

The only reference we can find to "Shaft's Stairs" concerns a 1970 Civic Trus...

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first meeting of the Gorsedd

first meeting of the Gorsedd

First meeting of the Gorsedd of the Bards of the Isle of Britain.  We have to admit that the photograph is not actually of the very first meeting.

Event, Tourism / Traditions, Wales

1 memorial
Festival of Britain

Festival of Britain

'A tonic for the Nation', The Festival was intended to cheer us all up after WW2, and incidentally to celebrate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. The symbol for the Festival was designed ...

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Tim Yau, MBE

Tim Yau, MBE

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Person, Commerce, Politics & Administration, Tourism / Traditions, China/Hong Kong

1 memorial
Black History Walks

Black History Walks

Black History Walks offer guided Walking Tours London to include the African history of London.

Group, History, Race Issues, Tourism / Traditions

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Crunchy the Credit Crunch Monster
2 memorials

Previously viewed

A. Bird

A. Bird

Employed at the Holloway tram garage. Served and was killed in WW1.

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War dead, WW1
1 memorial
George Green Association

George Green Association

We can't find any information about this group, so can only assume that it's now defunct.

Group, Community / Clubs

1 memorial
St Mary Magdalene Gardens

St Mary Magdalene Gardens

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St Mary Magdalene was built in 1814 as a chapel of ease to Islington Parish Church, the parish having grown from the mid C18th onwards, a...

7 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Arnold Bennett

Arnold Bennett

Born 92 (then 90) Hope Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. The "Five Towns" in his novels are based on this area, "the Potteries" as it was in his youth. Some would have called him a "champagne social...

Person, Literature

3 memorials
Black Music Congress, etc.

Black Music Congress, etc.

A number of groups related to black music history seem to have come and gone; it's difficult to disentangle them. These links were working in 2021: Black History Month, IRDUK (mentioned on the post...

Group, Community / Clubs, Music / songs, Race Issues

1 memorial